A while ago this little questionaire went around on Facebook.  I thought it would be fun to requiz the kids, now that they are all older.  The old answers are in italics.  The new ones follow.
Enjoy a small glimpse into the minds of my 3 oldest children. :)

1. What is something mom always says to you?


Go to bed

Micah - Don't say bad words
Jaela - I love you
Quin -Do chores
2. What makes mom happy?

doing what you are told to do

Micah - hugging her
Jaela - not lying
Quin - Tickling her

3. What makes mom sad?

Disobeying and saying no

Jaela - Kicking Micah, even if you say sorry
Micah - when we are mean to you
Quin - Worms in our house (?)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

by saying funny things

Jaela & Micah- By tickling, by saying funny things on the phone
5. What was your mom like as a child?

acting cute

a baby doll (Micah) Short with blonde hair (Jaela)
6. How old is your mom?

63

Jaela - 24
Quin - 47
Micah - 18
7. How tall is your mom?

probably like 42

Jaela - 5 foot 6
Micah - Raises hand in the air and says about this tall
Quin - an inch and a half
8. What is her favorite thing to do?

doing chores (Micah)

Quin - Read Books
Micah - picking flowers
Jaela - spank kids & cook
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

watch tv

play on the computer - Jaela and Micah
go in the kitchen and make stuff - Quin

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

spankings (Laquinthia)

Micah - playing Drums
Jaela & Quin - a fashion model

11. What is your mom really good at?

doing chores (Micah)

Quin - games
Micah - cooking and picking roses
Jaela - braiding
12. What is your mom not very good at?

putting her leg on the back of her head

Jaela -  "I am not going to answer that" (smart girl this one!)
Micah - picking up heavy stuff
Quin - monopoly
13. What does your mom do for her job?

do chores (evidently this has really stuck with Micah)

Quin - Clean up the kitchen
Jaela - tells us to do chores
Micah - "Mommy doesn't have a job, but I will tell you what her job is, cleaning up the kitchen, cleaning up the bathroom...."
14. What is your mom's favorite food?

pizza, apples, vanilla (??????)

Jaela - Eggrolls
Quin - Chicken pop soup (???????)
Micah - Pizza with drinking soda
15. What makes you proud of your mom?

she gives you nice things when your sick, like letting you sit in her bed and watch tv

Quin - Making soup
Micah - When she gives me toys
Jaela - when she lets me do whatever I want to do, like go bowling.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Cinderella

Micah - a princess
Jaela - Sandy Cheeks off of Spongebob
Quin - Someone off of Emporer's new groove 
17. What do you and your mom do together?

laugh and play video games

Jaela - tell daddy to stop passing gas in the house (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA)
Micah - go shopping
Quin - Pick up
18. How are you and your mom the same?

we look alike with the same smile and face (????!!) Jaela goes on to say we have the same roundness.

Jaela - we like doing some of the same stuff
Micah - By loving and picking flowers
Quin - By picking flowers and peaches
19. How are you and your mom different?

we play on barbie dot com and you play on facebook

Micah - I don't know
Quin - I don't know
Jaela - I like playing in make up and mom doesn't
20. How do you know your mom loves you?

Because she takes care of me

Jaela - by what she does
Micah - by hugging
Quin - I don't know (the land before time was on and clearly not a good time to ask her questions)
21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

asahi

Jaela  - Khols
Quin - Asahi
Micah - Walmart
Danny - Kroger

Recently a news station out of Nashville reported this story:  http://www.wsmv.com/education/25505015/detail.html
It is a biased report attacking church related umbrella schools here in Tennessee.

Go, read or watch, then come back and see my email to her and her response.

From: Jessica Carter [mailto:jessi0519@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 2:29 PM
To: Jennifer (WSMV) Johnson

Subject: Church related schools

I am really disappointed with this report. It was very biased and based solely on a single family, who were obviously having difficulties in home.

This father was shocked at how far behind his children were. I find that sad. Had he been involved in children’s education, there would have been no shock.

The state of Tennessee DOES know how many children are enrolled in church related schools. Church related schools report to the state, every year, how many students they have enrolled.

My children are enrolled in a church related school. I pulled my oldest child out of public school because the school system, with all their oversight, was failing her. She could not read past a kindergarten level and she was in second grade. She is now in fourth grade and is reading much better. I am now educating her and her siblings.

I am not interested in standardized testing for my children. I don’t use the same curriculum as public schools. There are differences in curriculums and standardized testing would not be able to account for this. So the results would not accurately portray what my children have learned and not learned. My daughter, due to how far behind she was when I pulled her out of public schools, doesn’t yet know multiplication. She would test “behind” in that area. But, if she has not yet been taught that, is she really behind? No, she is just not meeting the standard of a totally different curriculum for her grade. But, she is exactly where she is supposed to be in the curriculum she is being taught.

Isn’t the most important thing that she is learning and moving forward? Why should she be forced to learn what she is not ready to learn, simply to meet the standards of a test?

Furthermore, Sylvan Learning Center is a for profit organization whose job it is to inform you of how miserably behind your child is. They want your money. Their standards are not even the school’s standards. Since when are they responsible for setting the standards for children?

Stories of children being behind and failing, are a dime a dozen in the public school system. The public school system has an extraordinarily large amount of government oversight, and they are failing children in many different areas. Where is your outrage and report?

Thank you for this report, as it reminds me of the ignorance and misinformation that most people have concerning homeschooling. I imagine that you have heard from many homeschoolers by this point, because we are one of the most active and effective voices in our communities. We are dedicated to our children and their educations. Shame on you for picking a single bad example and ignoring the thousands of good ones. The public school teachers I know would love to have the time, attention, and creative energy to devote to their students that we are able to give to our students.

Sincerely

Jessica Carter


Now her reply


Ms. Carter,

Thank you for your e-mail. I’m sorry you feel this way. The story wasn’t meant to be biased or insinuate that all students taught at home are failing. That’s why I used the statistic pointing out that home school students test 2 points higher on the ACT than their public school counterparts. I think Mr. Shearer also made some eloquent comments that speak to your points.

What the story WAS designed to do is point out that there are children who are slipping through the cracks, and I stand behind that. This is not an isolated incident. The state department of education says they get a half a dozen calls a day from people just like Greg. I’m sorry if I left you with the impression that this was an issue about one Tennessee family. I can assure you… that’s not the case. The fact that these kids are behind was illustrated by the fact that a judge stepped in and ordered them back to school.

I agree with you. There are many students being taught at home who are thriving. There are also some who are slipping through the cracks. If there are any other specific facts you dispute in the story, I will be happy to address those.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Johnson

1 pound of ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
packet of taco seasoning (optional)

3 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup flour
1 chicken boulion cube
2 1/2 cups of water
1 tablespoon chili powder

8 to 10 corn tortillas

Brown ground beef with onion, drain fat.  Mix it taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions.  Or if you are omitting the seasoning, just add salt and pepper to your ground beef.  (This is the way I like it best.)  Set aside.
Melt butter in saucepan.  Add flour and stir for about thirty seconds to a minute.  Add boullion cube and water.  Whisk in chili powder.  Stir until thickened and bubbly.  Set aside.
In a nonstick skillet, heat a corn tortilla until warm and pliable.  Put a few tablespoons of beef filling into tortilla and roll up.  Pour a few tablespoons of enchilada sauce onto rolled up tortilla and beef. 

Repeat until all the meat or tortillas are filled.  Serve with shredded white american cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and tomatoes if desired. 
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Ok, remember I said that November was generally a good time to start looking for used curriculum?  Well, October is the new November! 
I have noticed a significant increase in used curriculum postings, especially Sonlight!  Remember these tips:

1. Do not be afraid to ask for a lower price.  In fact, always do!
2. Unless you need it now or come across a hard to find item, wait until January.
3. Don't buy the first deal offered:  SHOP AROUND.
4. You will probably turn down lots of 'deals' before finding the right one!
5. Do not pay more than 50% of the current retail price for a used item, unless it is a hard to find one, then make sure the new item is NOT on sale.

• walmartclassifieds.com
• homeschoolclassifieds.com
• allofcraigs.com  (searches all Craigslist)
• ebay.com

This is the best granola I have ever had.  I love it.  The kids love it.  The dog, well the puppy, she loves most all of what the kids' drop. But anyway, here is the recipe!

7 cups of oats - not quick cooking
1 cup of Wheat Germ (found in the cereal section of the grocery store)
1 cup of chopped almonds
1 cup of chopped pecans
1 cup of sesame seed kernels (this means take them out of the shell or buy them that way)
1 cup of coconut
1 1/2 cup of Maple Syrup (the REAL stuff, I know it is expensive, but it is worth it!)
2/3 cup of vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients in a big bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.  Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients.  Bake at 300 for around an hour and a half, stirring after every half hour. 

This makes a one gallon freezer bag FULL of granola.  It lasts my family of seven about 2 weeks.

After it has baked and cooled you can add mini chocolate chips, dried fruit, m&m's..... :-D

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